Ashen Heart
by Vanna Valentine
Summary: In the dead of night, Byleth sneaks off to the room of one of her beloved students for some advice.


Garreg Mach Monastery always felt calming when night fell.

As Byleth slowly walked through the dormitory hall, guided only by the illuminating light of the full moon overhead, she held her lips pressed together and stepped lightly. Linhardt and Bernadetta were heavy sleepers, but she knew that it would not take much to wake Hubert or Petra. No one was supposed to be out and about at this hour and she felt that it would be setting a bad example for one of her students to see their professor breaking that rule.

Growing up, people had always told her that she didn't make a sound when she moved. Not even her breathing was audible. She was grateful for that at this particular moment, as it meant that she was unlikely to be detected. Byleth stopped in front of a particular door and took a deep breath, mildly dreading what was to come. She would usually knock, but did not trust herself to be quiet enough. As such, she took a master key from her pocket and inserted it into the door's lock, unlocking it before gently turning the knob and pushing forward. After removing the key, she slowly pushed the door shut behind her.

She turned around and looked upon the sleeping form of one of her precious students and found herself experiencing a rare emotion for her—disquietude. With a sigh, she cautiously approached the sleeping girl and softly placed her hand on her shoulder, beginning to gently rock her to rouse her from her sleep.

"Dorothea," she whispered. "Wake up, please."

The former songstress moaned in her sleep before rising, the bedsheets falling from her shoulders and revealing a lacy nightgown. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes before blinking several times and squinting, leaning forward to better see the person who had woken her.

"Professor…?" she asked, rubbing her neck. "What time is it? It's still dark…did I oversleep or something?"

"No, you did not. I need you for something."

"Oh?" Dorothea couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, her the corner of her mouth curling into a smirk. "A clandestine visit to the room of one of your students, hm? Professor, I'm flattered, but surely you know that this kind of relationship is inappropriate."

Byleth shook her head and knelt down so that she was eye level with her companion. "No, not that. I need your advice."

Dorothea blinked, seemingly to have finally fully woken up. "Oh, okay. You could have just asked me in the morning, you know." She leaned over and pulled the string of her lamp, the dark room being filled with yellow light.

"You're right." Byleth sighed, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry for waking you, I just didn't want to go to bed feeling like this."

"Oh wow, it's about your feelings? This must be pretty important." Dorothea adjusted herself in bed and sat up, leaning against the bedhead. "You have my undivided attention and confidentiality, Professor. Go ahead, lay it on me."

Byleth pulled up a chair and sat down, placing her hands in her lap and staring down. She tapped her fingers on her knees and began to speak. "Well, Edelgard confessed her love for me around two hours ago, and asked me to give my response tomorrow evening. I've been pondering what I should say since then. I assume that you would know quite a bit about these things, so I was wondering if you could assist me."

It seemed as if Byleth's words did not quite register in the young woman's brain, for she simply blinked once before leaning forward. "Wait, hold on. Edie told you that she loved you?" Dorothea let out a deep breath and a smile was born on her face. "Oh my gosh! Th-that's great!"

"Is it?" Byleth asked with a frown. "I'm not so sure about that…"

Coming back to her senses, Dorothea pursed her lips. "Right, right. Sorry. That is problematic, isn't it…" she rested her face on her fist and hummed for a moment. "She might be the future Emperor, but she's still your student. On top of that, you don't even know how old you are, do you? Are you even interested in other women?"

"I don't know," Byleth answered. "I've never thought about it before."

"Well, how do you feel about the idea of you falling in love with and marrying a girl? Does it repulse you? Excite you?"

Byleth tilted her head and furrowed her brow. "Neither. You forget who you're speaking to."

Nodding, Dorothea crossed her arms and thought for a few moments in silence. "That's true. I don't know how it slipped my mind that you don't have any feelings."

"I have feelings," Byleth corrected with a somewhat annoyed expression. "I just don't express them in the same ways that normal people do. However, when it comes to Edelgard, I don't know how I feel. I don't know if I feel anything."

"Well that's certainly a problem." Dorothea looked to the ceiling in search of a solution and snapped her fingers with a smile when one found her. "Okay, if you don't know how you feel, then why don't you just talk about Edelgard for a minute? I can be the judge of whether or not you have feelings for her based on what you say. Does that sound good?"

"I suppose…" Byleth placed her hand on her chin and took a deep breath, taking a few moments to collect her thoughts and gather the words. "I consider Edelgard to be a close companion of mine. She shares a lot with me and me alone, so I know that she trusts me deeply. She's my top student and is very diligent in her studies. As for my opinions of her, I admire how she is the type of person who knows what she wants and is rather straightforward. I think that it's rather cute when she gets flustered or loses her composure." The professor sighed happily and stared up at the dark night sky through Dorothea's window. "I believe that I am closer to her than most are. In my months here, I have seen sides of her that others have not. I suppose…that because of that, I may have become slightly infatuated with her. How steadfast she is, her unwavering ambitions, her prowess on the battlefield…I find to be rather attractive."

Dorothea gave a blissful smile and could not stop her face from becoming flushed. "My my, Professor. I'm no expert, but it seems to me that you have a little crush on Edie."

"Oh." Byleth pressed her lips together and solemnly nodded. "I see. What am I to do about that?"

"Well, she likes you too!" Dorothea responded enthusiastically. "That's farther than most people get when they fancy someone! Alright, what I recommend you do is tell her that you like her back tomorrow, and then you two will become a couple and live happily ever after! Gosh, Professor. You're going to be an empress' wife. I've got to say, I'm jealous."

Byleth shuffled in her seat and pressed her fingers together, her eyes glued to her lap. "If all goes well, then yes, I suppose I will be. That's…that's good, right? I must admit that I'm not so sure that that sort of life suits me. I grew up around rugged men and women and was fighting almost every week of my life. I'm also not sure if living the life of royalty would be what Jeralt would want for me…"

"Hey." Dorothea leaned forward in her bed and placed her hand on Byleth's, making the professor raise her head and look her in the eyes. They were warm and comforting, calming the stoic woman at once. "Your dad would be so, _so _proud of you, okay? You're his daughter. I'm sure that he wouldn't care whether you became a pretty princess or a valiant general or even a simple farmer. Regardless, he would want you to find love with whoever could make your heart whole, and it looks to me as if you've found that."

A small smile with born on Byleth's face as she slowly nodded in understanding. "You may very well be right, Dorothea. If this is what my heart desires, then so be it." She rose to her feet and her small smile evolved into a full on grin, something that shocked Dorothea greatly. "Thank you, Dorothea. I apologize again for waking you up."

"Oh, don't mention it. Just let me know how it goes tomorrow, okay? Keep me updated!"

Byleth returned her chair to its original position nodded once more, making her way over to the door and quietly opening it. "Absolutely. Goodnight, Dorothea. You've helped me greatly."

"Don't mention it! Goodnight, Professor!"

As Byleth shut the door behind her, Dorothea turned off her lamp and laid down back in bed, staring at the ceiling. She disappointingly sighed before closing her eyes and turning on her side, pouting.

"Well, there go my chances of marrying Edelgard…"


End file.
